Renovation of Chemical and Materials Engineering Facility

当代材料科学与工程涵盖了广泛的主题，从材料电子结构的理论研究到先进材料的设计、合成和加工。明尼苏达大学化学工程和材料科学系的教师在这些研究领域取得了丰硕的成果。部门研究在阿蒙森大厅进行，这是一个20世纪50年代缺乏质量研究空间的结构。目前，由于湿实验室和理论空间的分散，专门用于研究活动的房间利用率很低。研究重点向实验科学的转变导致了实验室和理论空间的混合安排，这阻碍了学生与适当的研究小组的互动。从国家科学基金会获得的资金将用于更新现有的研究实验室，以加强和巩固研究小组的功能。翻新将包括从理论和建模研究空间创建湿实验室。用于合成和表征聚合物、陶瓷和分子材料的实验室将配备化学通风柜和实验室工作台。隔离的仪器室将被设计用来放置材料表征设备，以及扫描、隧道和原子力显微镜。通过改变研究空间的配置，效率将最大化，这将导致提高教师和研究生的生产力，除了改进研究训练。该项目将加强本已富有成效的部门，并允许适应化学和材料工程方面的新发展。

Contemporary Materials Science and Engineering spans a wide spectrum of topics, ranging from theoretical studies of the electronic structure of materials to the design, synthesis, and processing of advanced materials. The faculty of the University of Minnesota's Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science has been productive in these areas of investigations. Departmental research is conducted in Amundson Hall, a 1950's structure deficient of quality research space. Currently, rooms dedicated for research activities, are used inefficiently because of the interspersion of wet laboratories and theory space. The shift in research emphasis toward experimental science has contributed to a mix arrangement of laboratory and theory space, which impedes the interactions of students with appropriate research groups. Funding received from the National Science Foundation will be used to renovate existing research laboratories needed to enhance and consolidate research groups by function. Renovations will include the creation of wet laboratories from theoretical and modeling research space. Laboratories for the synthesis and characterization of polymers, ceramics, and molecular materials will be equipped with chemical fume hoods and laboratory benches. Segregated instrument rooms will be designed to house materials characterization equipment, and scanning, tunneling and atomic force microscopes. By altering the configuration of research space, efficiency will be maximized which will lead to increased productivity of faculty and graduate students, in addition to improved research training. The project will enhance an already productive Department, and allow for the adaptation of new developments in Chemical and Materials Engineering.